Synonyms

Piroplasmosis, blood pee

Name of the disease in English

Babesiosis, Redwater fever, cattle tick fever

The disease in brief

Babesiosis is a tick-borne disease characterized by hemolysis, fever, anemia, jaundice and hemoglobinuria. In Europe, the species involved are mainly Babesia divergens transmitted by Ixodes ricinus and, less frequently, Babesia major transmitted by Haemaphysalis punctata. Ticks become infected by biting carrier cattle and transmit the disease. Young animals under 12 months of age become infected without becoming ill, which means that young animals living in infested areas can often develop immunity, which is rekindled each season by infected ticks. Susceptible cattle include cattle introduced from untouched areas or non-immune cattle sent to fields far from their usual locations.

The disease occurs during the summer and in pastures.

The disease is feared (monitoring in pastures) and is dreaded by the losses it causes.

Clinic & diagnosis

Cattle grazing in the summer (not in winter) which show hyperthermia associated with:

-Either with diarrhea evacuated in a jet from a semi-closed anus (“wood jet” diarrhea),

-Either with pale to pale yellow mucous membranes

-Either with coffee-colored (or port wine-colored) urine and often foamy (hemoglobinuria ± bilirubinuria)

The association of hyperthermia, hemoglobinuria, and diarrhea in the form of a wooden jet is characteristic and allows a reliable clinical diagnosis.

Typical sign of the disease

No description

Pictures

See below

Diagnostic formulas

No description

Differential diagnosis

-Babesiosis-Mixed infection-Anaplasma / and / or Theileria buffeli- / OR M.Wenyonii N9

-Theriosis caused by T. Buffeli N45

-Poisoning by cabbage, onions, garlic N24

-Mycoplasma weynyonii (Infection with) N33

Confirm a suspicion?

Take a blood sample on anticoagulant (EDTA or citrate) for blood smear stained with May-Grünwald and Giemsa.

Observations of polymorphic intraerythrocyte elements: punctiform elements, round shape and characteristic shapes of binary division showing two pear-shaped elements joined by their polntus poles. Reading is easy on a good quality spread, parasitemia is greater than 0.5% (at least one parasitic element per microscope field) and can reach 5% of red blood cells.

Prognosis and treatment

Treatment should be carried out in the early stages of the disease (diarrhea stage); it includes:

-A specific antiparasitic such as imidocarb

- Supportive treatment may be added depending on the level of anemia (possible transfusion)

Prevention

-The fight against ticks is illusory because it would require very (too) many persistent acaricide treatments. Too much pressure on ticks is likely to limit reinfections of animals too much and to break immunity (concomitant immunity associated with asymptomatic carriage over a period of 12 to 18 months).

-In infested areas, chemoprevention with Imidocarb can be considered for animals introduced from healthy areas; failing this, monitoring (general condition, hemoglobinuria, diarrhea) must be implemented.

References

Veterinary Medicine-Pocket companion -9th Edition BLOOD DC-page 459